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“Sunni” and “Shiite”… Lebanon Between Two Weapons
The Israeli army’s abduction of Atwi Atwi, an official in Lebanon’s Islamic Group, from the town of Hebbariyeh in southern Lebanon at dawn on Monday was not a routine security incident within the context of border tensions. In its timing and underlying message, the operation appeared closer to a field signal that went beyond the…
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What Is Happening Inside Hezbollah?
Talk of changes within Hezbollah is no longer limited to whispers behind the scenes or passing leaks. Information circulating—whether from figures within the leadership or from journalists close to the party—points to a phase of internal reorganization, taking place without any official announcement or formal organizational statement so far. These developments come at an extremely…
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Why Nabih Berri Is Now the Problem
In Washington’s view, Lebanon’s crisis is no longer just about Hezbollah. It is about the political gatekeepers who make reform impossible, and Nabih Berri sits at the top of that list. That assessment crystallized last week in Congress, when Rep. Darrell Issa dismantled Berri’s long-crafted image as an institutional stabilizer. “Mr. Berri has been in office for 34…
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With Waning Popular Support and Estrangement of Allies, Is Hezbollah Still Above the State?
Hezbollah was never merely a political party in Lebanon, nor an ordinary militia. It has long been an actor that transcended the logic of conventional electoral competition. Its organized military strength, extensive social and economic networks, and cross-sectarian political alliances enabled it to entrench itself at the heart of Lebanon’s political system, despite that system’s…
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First-Ever Raids on Drug-Manufacturing Strongholds in Lebanon
The security campaign unfolding in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley over recent weeks appears to go much deeper and further than a routine crackdown on illicit trade. Instead, it looks more like an attempt to break a status quo that has endured for years: fortified areas, well-known networks, and publicly circulated names – without any real accountability.…
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Arms Crossings Between Syria and Lebanon
From time to time, Syrian authorities announce the foiling of attempts to smuggle weapons shipments into Lebanon, the most recent of which occurred in the al-Brij area of Syria’s Qalamoun region. According to details of the incident, Syrian security forces intercepted, at the beginning of 2026, a large shipment of rifles, rocket launchers, and anti-armor…
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“The Barometer of Confidence” Pulls Out of Lebanon
Suddenly, the scene looked as though the lights had gone out in a hall once bustling with guests. No music, no applause, just a door quietly closing. That, in essence, was how the Al Habtoor Group’s exit from Lebanon looked like. This was not a passing economic headline to be folded away among loss figures.…
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Lebanon’s Islamist Prisoners Shift Their Battle from Armed Clashes to Hunger Strikes
In a cell where light barely seeps in, Mahmoud, along with “Islamist prisoners” in Building B of Roumieh Prison, made a decision the harsh consequences of which they fully understood in advance: to start an open-ended hunger strike. The “Islamist prisoners” announced their decision on Sunday in a video message, pledging to proceed with the…
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Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Those Returning and the New Arrivals
Outside one of the registration centers run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Beirut, dozens of Syrian families stand in silent lines. No one here speaks of a “dream” or a “future,” but rather of two questions that have been repeated for years: Is staying possible? And is returning safe? This…
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The Kurdish Call to Arms Reaches Lebanon
On a day that was sunny yet cold at the same time, crowds from the Kurdish community took to the streets of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, waving flags of the Kurdistan Region, holding banners and photographs of slain Kurdish civilians, and chanting slogans in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). On Tuesday, the demonstrators…